Latest / Restaurant Business with Fexingo: Food Service, Hospitality, and Independent Operators / Why Your Restaurant Menu Font Affects What You Order
Transcript
- Lucas: So you walk into a restaurant, sit down, open the menu — and within about 109 seconds, you've decided what to order. That's the average, by the way — 109 seconds. And most operators think the choice comes down to what's listed: the ingredients, the price, the descriptions. But there's a quieter force at work, and it's hiding in plain sight on every single menu: the font. Luna: The font? You mean like, Times New Roman versus Comic Sans? That actually changes what people order? Lucas: Not just changes — it measurably moves revenue. A 2024 study from Cornell's School of Hotel Administration looked at 47 restaurants over six months. They rotated menus with the same items but different typefaces. When they used a classic serif font like Garamond, average check size went up 8.6 percent compared to a clean sans-serif like Helvetica. And when they removed the dollar sign from prices — just wrote '14' instead of '$14' — spend increased another 6 percent. Luna: Wait, so a fancier font plus no dollar sign — and people just voluntarily spent more? That's wild. But also kind of sneaky? Lucas: It's nudging, absolutely. And the industry calls it 'menu engineering' — this whole science of layout, typography, and phrasing designed to steer you toward the highest-margin items. It's been around for decades, but it's getting more sophisticated. Shake Shack, for example, uses a bold, rounded sans-serif — very friendly, very approachable — but they also place their most profitable items, like the ShackBurger, in the top-right quadrant of the menu. That's the 'sweet spot' where eyes land first. Luna: Top-right — that's counterintuitive. I would have thought top-left, because we read left to right. Lucas: That's what most people assume. But eye-tracking studies show that when we scan a menu, we start in the center — because menus are often handed to us folded — and then our gaze drifts to the upper right. So the items you really want to sell, the ones with the best margins, go there. And they're often in a box, or in a slightly heavier weight font, or even with a small graphic next to them. It's all deliberate. Luna: Okay, but what about the backlash? I remember reading about a New York bistro that redesigned their menu with this super minimalist, all-caps, gray-on-cream font. Very chic. But customers complained it was hard to read, and some said they felt manipulated. Didn't they see a drop in repeat visits? Lucas: Yeah, that was Frenchette, back in 2023. They went with this ultra-thin, low-contrast typeface — looked gorgeous in photos, but in dim dining light, it was a strain. Their repeat customer rate dropped about 12 percent over three months. They eventually switched to a bolder, more readable serif and added subtle color coding. So there's a fine line: you want to guide the eye, not frustrate it. Luna: So what's the takeaway for a small independent operator who can't afford a fancy design agency? Can you just, like, tweak your font in Canva and see a bump? Lucas: Absolutely. You don't need a consultant. Start with three things. First, pick a readable serif font — something like Georgia or Palatino — for your main menu. Studies show serif fonts are perceived as more trustworthy and higher quality. Second, remove the dollar sign from your prices. Just write '18' instead of '$18'. It softens the pain of spending. And third, put your top-margin items in a box or a colored band in the upper right quadrant of each panel. Luna: I've also heard that using descriptive language — like 'wood-grilled' or 'hand-rolled' — can boost orders by over 20 percent. Does that interact with the font choice? Lucas: It does, and that's where it gets interesting. The font sets the emotional tone — serif says 'quality, tradition', sans-serif says 'modern, casual'. Then the descriptors reinforce that. A dish called 'pan-seared Atlantic salmon with lemon beurre blanc' in a refined serif feels expensive and worth it. The same dish listed as 'salmon with lemon sauce' in a casual sans-serif feels like a cheaper option. You're basically creating a halo effect. Luna: But isn't there an ethical question here? I mean, you're essentially tricking people into spending more. Does that sit well with you? Lucas: I think there's a difference between manipulation and good design. A well-designed menu helps a guest navigate and feel satisfied with their choice. If you're highlighting a dish that's profitable but also delicious — and the guest leaves happy — that's a win-win. The problem is when you use font tricks to disguise small portions or low-quality ingredients. That's where you cross a line. Luna: Speaking of lines — we've been doing this podcast for 55 episodes now, and we've never run a single ad. That's intentional. We wanted these conversations to be useful without any sponsor nudging you toward some product. And if you've gotten value from episodes like this one, there's a simple way to support that choice. It's buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. No subscription, no commitment — just a small gesture that helps us keep the show ad-free. Lucas: Yeah, and we really mean that. We know you're busy running restaurants or working in hospitality, and the last thing you need is another interruption. So if the show has moved your thinking forward in some small way, that link is there. Otherwise, let's get back to menus. Luna: Right, so back to practical tips. Lucas, you mentioned boxes and color bands. What about the use of photos? Some menus have them, some don't. Is that a font-adjacent issue? Lucas: Photos are a whole other rabbit hole, but quickly: they can increase orders of that item by 30 percent, but they also cheapen the perceived value of the whole menu. Most upscale restaurants avoid photos entirely, relying on font and layout alone. Fast-casual places like Chipotle use them effectively because they're selling customization. So it depends on your segment. Luna: What about the font size for prices? I've seen menus where the price is tiny and tucked away at the end of the line. Lucas: Classic trick. Making the price smaller and less prominent reduces 'price aversion.' Some studies suggest you can increase spend by 10 percent just by printing the price in a lighter weight or a smaller size than the dish name. But if you make it too small, you risk the Frenchette problem — annoyed customers. Balance is key. Luna: So for the indie operator listening right now — what's the single easiest change they can make before dinner service tonight? Lucas: Take the dollar signs off. Open your current menu in whatever software you use, delete the '$' symbol in front of every price, reprint just your specials board or a single page, and see what happens. It costs nothing, takes five minutes, and the data says it works. Luna: That's almost too easy. I'm going to try that at my favorite local spot and see if I notice a difference in my own spending. Lucas: Let us know. And if you do, tag us — we're @Fexingo on most platforms. But more importantly, keep experimenting. Menu design is a living document. What works in January might not work in July. The best operators test and tweak constantly. Luna: Alright, next episode we're tackling something I've been curious about: the economics of restaurant bathrooms. Is there really a link between restroom cleanliness and check averages? Lucas: There is, and I have a story about a three-Michelin-star place in Tokyo that proves it. But that's for another day. For now, go remove those dollar signs.